Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes: The 20 most prolific midfielders of the 21st century | OneFootball

Being a central midfielder is one of the toughest jobs in football.

The person assigned the complex role is expected to contribute heavily in both defence and attack, while also attempting to dictate the tempo of a match.

Only the very finest footballers enjoy a successful career in the middle of the park.

Judging a central midfielder’s quality can often be quite difficult, due to the sheer number of facets attached to the role.

In truth, you have to look at many different areas to truly assess a player’s profile, from passing stats to defensive contributions – and that’s not always easy.

So instead of trawling through various websites in search of niche data, we’re instead going to look at the easiest way to judge a central midfielder; goals and assists.

The kind folks over at PopFoot have helped out massively in that regard.

They’ve provided a detailed list containing the 20 most prolific central midfielders of the 21st century, at club and international level combined.

Just so you’re aware, PopFoot’s list focuses strictly on central midfielders, so number 10s like Kevin De Bruyne, Mesut Ozil and Kaka don’t feature at all.

20. Paul Pogba – 172 goal contributions

Goals: 85 | Assists: 87

19. Aaron Ramsey – 174 goal contributions

Goals: 97 | Assists: 77

18. Marouane Fellaini – 182 goal contributions

Goals: 125 | Assists: 57

17. Yaya Toure – 204 goal contributions

Goals: 122 | Assists: 82

16. Gini Wijnaldum – 204 goal contributions

Goals: 143 | Assists: 61

15. Joao Moutinho – 205 goal contributions

Goals: 65 | Assists: 140

14. Bastian Schweinsteiger – 210 goal contributions

Goals: 102 | Assists: 108

13. Andrea Pirlo – 226 goal contributions

Goals: 86 | Assists: 140

12. Miralem Pjanic – 230 goal contributions

Goals: 91 | Assists: 139

11. Arturo Vidal – 233 goal contributions

Goals: 146 | Assists: 87

10. Paul Scholes – 252 goal contributions

Goals: 169 | Assists: 83

9. Luka Modric – 263 goal contributions

Goals: 120 | Assists: 143

8. Ivan Rakitic – 263 goal contributions

Goals: 124 | Assists: 139

7. Toni Kroos – 265 goal contributions

Goals: 73 | Assists: 192

6. Clarence Seedorf – 267 goal contributions

Goals: 147 | Assists: 120

5. Andres Iniesta – 273 goal contributions

Goals: 101 | Assists: 172

4. Xavi Hernandez – 335 goal contributions

Goals: 126 | Assists: 209

3. Cesc Fabregas – 370 goal contributions

Goals: 140 | Assists: 230

2. Steven Gerrard – 381 goal contributions

Goals: 212 | Assists: 169

Yeah, Lampard was an absolute joke of a footballer. The Chelsea legend leads a list full of true icons of the game.

It’s a slight surprise that Liverpool great Gerrard is only just ahead of Fabregas, which suggests the Spaniard still remains slightly underrated by the masses.

The fact Fabregas is well ahead of Scholes, Iniesta and Xavi is seriously impressive.